This Story Ain't About You

*WHAM*

A thunderclap caused both Grika and Mark to leap to their feet, weapons quickly in hand. This was no mere natural phenomena. The sky was clear, and there was no rain to be seen.

"Witchcraft," the Orc warned, "Be on your guard."

Mark nodded, keeping his eyes peeled. But the campfire was messing with their night vision, limiting what they could see to the edges of its flickering light. In the shadows, the absence, his imagination conjured nightmares. Visions of gigantic insects, or beholders, or flesh-eating mutants, or a hundred other impossibilities that this world could throw at him.

Instead, a single humanoid shape emerged, humming a tune. Wearing a full hooded cloak, it seemed completely indifferent to the two people standing battle-ready, prepared to lop its head off. Or her head perhaps, as the singing voice was a feminine one. She strolled into the clearing where they'd set up camp and started poking around the remains of the Dire Slimes they'd slayed that afternoon. Withdrawing a jar from her cloak, she began scooping up the remnants of the goo into the container.

"Identify yourself!" Grika demanded. The singing continued, occasional words of lyrics reaching her lips. Lyrics, Mark realized, he knew!

"Are you...are you singing Final Fantasy boss fight music?" he asked, almost without thinking.

The figure looked toward them, revealing her face for the first time. Pepper red skin met his gaze, with the edges of some bonelike protrusions peeking from either side of her forehead. Eyes that glowed like dying stars danced between the pair standing at the fire, purple lips peeling back to reveal a smile of jagged teeth.

"Well I'll be dipped. A fellow Terran!" she said, setting the jar on the ground. With a flourish, she threw back the hood of her cloak to reveal a full set of curling, ram-like horns. A peculiar visage for someone claiming to be from Earth.

"You know this Tiefling?" Grika asked, her stance not relaxing one iota.

"I don't. Never met a Tiefling in my life. Well, besides on a tabletop. Pardon my presumption, but you don't exactly look like you're from Earth."

The new woman laughed, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "What can I say? I didn't get out much. But no, you're right, I don't look like a Human. In fact, I'm nothing of the kind. Not anymore."

She let the cloak fall from her body to reveal a gorgeous, voluptuous body. Her skin was on full display thanks to the obscene cut of her clothing, which gave token effort to supporting and concealing her breasts before slicing off at sharp angles to wrap around her back, revealing her belly. A skirt covered up some, but was slit in such a way that at all points her thick thighs were easily visible. It was a garment straight out of an old D&D splatbook cover. The only discrepancy between her appearance and those old rulebooks was the very obvious, very noticeable bulge in the front.

A trans woman...in an isekai?!

"How...what are you?" he asked, then stammered back an awkward: "N-not what I meant. I didn't...ah, I mean, what race...not what I..." He babbled incoherently as he tried to push through several concepts at once:

- Hello, attractive woman

- I am cool with trans ladies, please do not think I'm not

- Oh god, she's so pretty

- Was species in this world a mutable concept? Was there a way to turn into a hot Tiefling too?

- [Incoherent horny noises]

These thoughts muddled and mixed until it looked like he was about to have a minor aneurysm. But the Tiefling gal simply stepped over and put a hand on his shoulder, and his worries melted away.

"It's alright, cutes, I get it. It's a lot to take in at once. Frankly, that's why I like the whole mysterious cloak reveal. Knocks people off their guard a bit. But to answer your question: yeah, you can look like me if you want. I can show you how."

His mouth opened, then closed. "Really?" he managed, then added as an afterthought. "But, like, not identically. I wouldn't want to be a girl or anything, haha." He'd actually said the word 'haha' as if he was reading it out, rather than laughing. It was, to put it bluntly, not very convincing.

"Do not listen to her lies! She's clearly a villain!" Grika shouted, stepping forward and brandishing her weapon.

The Tiefling laughed. God, Mark thought, even her laugh was pretty. "That's a bit reductive, I think. Oh sure, the woman in the black cloak who wanders around at night offering new bodies HAS to be an evil sorceress. Ugh. Well, I mean, I am, but that's really besides the point."

"Wait...evil sorceress?" he asked, taking a step back.

"Well, we're all really shades of grey in this world. Morally ambiguous storytelling and so forth. And sure, I may have gone a little 'power mad' after I discovered how easy these things are to manipulate." She lifted her wrist to indicate her Implant.

"See?! Sorcery!" Grika snarled.

Mark held up a hand to his Orc companion. "Wait a minute...you hacked your Implant? That's a thing you can do?"

"Any self-respecting owner of programming socks could, really. Magic in this world appears to be based on logic gates and Boolean functions. Once you figure out the basics, you can game the system as easily as one might write infinite money cheats for The Sims. First thing I did was change my physical attributes. Spent the most time getting the horns right. Do you like them?" She hovered her hand over the protrusions like they were products she was an infomercial spokesperson for.

Mark inched a little closer to examine them. "They're amazing. They look real!"

"They are real, darling. Anything you want, I can make real. My name is Sitri, and I am this world's most powerful Sorceress. Tell me: what does your heart desire?"

"Why are you consorting with her?!" Grika asked, baffled. "Do you not recognise your foe? That is clearly the Night Witch, the Lady of Shadows...the Dark One! She only seeks to ensnare you as one of her spellbound pawns!"

The words of the orb that had brought him to this world echoed in his mind. 'Defeat the Dark One' it had said. Could it truly be her?

Regardless of the truth of the thought, the hostility was growing between the two women. Grika looked ready to pop off and start smashing, where the Tiefling Sorceress appeared to only grow more amused. The twitch of her fingers told a different story, one of a gunfighter looking for an excuse to draw.

"If you're talking about that quest note the magic ball gave you when you first arrived, it gives that to everyone. I think it's bugged or something. There is no Dark One, and if there was, he's dead and gone centuries ago."

"Enough talk! Blood for the Red Tide!" The Barbarian charged, hammer held over head and ready to smash down. The stranger didn't move, however. Sitri waited until the hammer was in its arc down onto her head before a snap of her fingers emitted a beam of impossible light. In a single, blinding flash, the fierce orc was hurled through the air like a tossed plushie. Before she could land on the ground in a heap of broken bones and shattered spirit, her body was jerked upward, held aloft by unseen forces. Mark's gaze fell back upon the Tiefling, who was whispering dark words underneath her breath.

Her body twisted as ribbons of blue/black energy surged forward, connecting her skin with the Tiefling's outstretched hand. The energy wormed its way through and began to change the Barbarian's body. She was already generously endowed, but the energy went further, bulging her breasts, her thighs, and her hips until she was a practical walking fertility symbol. But it kept her powerful muscles, merely cloaking them in some areas beneath a lining of squishable flesh.

"You're a little loquacious for a Barbarian Tank, sweetheart. I prefer mine a little more...classic." Sitri sneered, and reached out with her hand as her bright eyes burned with magical energy. Like her being was channeling powers beyond her body's capacity to contain them entirely. A window just like Mark's own appeared beside Grika, showing all her statistics. But as he watched in captive horror, the bars labelled Wits and Willpower drained away. Little specks marking each lost point floated away like errant fireflies before settling on the ones called Strength and Stamina.

"Wha! Unhand me you...you...umm...uhh..." Grika's words faltered, the fire in their fury ebbing away into a damp sizzle. And as she twitched and thrashed in the air, a dopey grin replaced the frustrated grimace. Her lips joined the rest of her body and plumped up, leaving her mouth to hang open in a slight O.

"There's a good Meatshield. Dumb and Happy. What's your name, sweetie?"

"Umm...it's Grika..." she said, as if the knowledge required an effort to retrieve.

The Tiefling tapped her chin. "That's a little cacophonous for me. I prefer a smoother sounding name for my party members. No matter, we'll give you a new one. What do you think about...Pussy?"

"Pussy? But...uhh..." she mumbled, looking down at her naked body. "Isn't that already...like...the name of my pussy?"

"That's very true! But of the two of you: who is the smartest?"

She stammered, shaking her head. "I don't...I don't get it."

The sinister Sorceress approached, no fear in her at all being so close to someone who could, in theory, smash her flat with her bare hands. "Surely you can sense what it wants. You have a healthy libido, I made sure you kept that. Your head's so dizzy, but that hole between your legs seems to know what to do." She crooked a finger and slid it without preamble inside the Orc, who inhaled sharply.

"Mmm...it wants to fuck," she said simply, parting her thighs to let the stimulation continue.

"Of course it does. So since it knows what it wants, and you don't, it should be in charge. Pussy should let Pussy do the thinking. That's why her name is Pussy, isn't it?" She slid in a second finger, and the Barbarian shuddered. Juices leaked freely from her exposed slit as her wandering focus was sharpened down to the width of a rapier's blade.

"Hmm...oh...uhh..."

"What's your name?"

"My name is...Pussy..." she said, her words catching every so often as her fragmented identity leaked down her thighs. She was rewarded for this by the same fingers that had been teasing her pressing themselves into her mouth. She sucked on them with her massive, cushiony lips.

"Of course it is. I'll be needing a bodyguard, and you'll do nicely. But I also want a toy to play with. We'll see if we can give you some combat prowess to go with that depowered brain, but in the meantime, let's add a few permanent status effects, hmm?" the Sorceress said, twisting her fingers. Words slid in from nowhere, stamping themselves home like cattle brands onto the Orc's character sheet.

[Oath of Exposure!]

Your God has seen it fit to make you leave nothing to the imagination! Unless given good reason, this character must expose her body at every opportunity, save for token strips of fabric covering nipples and genitals. Failure to do so will cause divine sanction!

[Inveterate Exhibitionist!]

All those eyes drive you wild! From now on, the more people paying attention to your body if it is in a semi-clothed or nude state, the more aroused you become! In addition, masturbation will only give you release should you be actively watched by another person.

[Fury of the Heart!]

The more sexually frustrated and unsatisfied this character becomes, the harder she fights! This special ability replaces the Barbarian's natural Rage talent.

[Vaginal Fixation]

A curse affecting this character has manifested as a profound obsession with her own vagina. Touching it, pleasing it, getting it licked and sucked and fucked and rubbed have totally overwhelmed her other concerns! Character takes a disadvantage to any skill check not revolving around her pussy.

With that final status, the Tiefling let the Orc sag to the ground. Mark immediately rushed over to check on her, only to see her furiously stuffing her fingers in her newly insatiable hole.

"Oh Gods...oh Gods...watch me...watch Pussy play!" she squealed, clenching her thighs together as she lost herself to magically-induced ecstasy.

"She'll be happier this way," the Sorceress said, standing at his shoulder. Mark turned to her, still holding his sword. But it felt so...useless. Like a foam Minecraft weapon the annoying child on the city bus might beat against the window. He let it drop from his hand.

"I don't...I don't think I can beat you," he said sadly, feeling his future as a brave adventurer drain away as readily as Grika's mind had.

She gave him an affectionate, but still very condescending, pat on the head. "It's alright. Stronger people have tried to go against me, and they've all ended up like her, more or less. And though I fully intend to transform you into something, it doesn't have to be without your input. I sense something...familiar, about your current situation. I have a test for this sort of thing, though it might be a bit shocking to you if you aren't prepared for it. But that's also when it's the most fun!"

She pointed at him, cocked her thumb like the hammer of a pistol, then yanked it back like she'd just fired from her finger gun. Mark shut his eyes, waiting for the hammerblow of magic to obliterate his identity from the face of existence.

"There. Done."

He looked down at his body, looking for changes. But instead of a snake body or wings or a huge cock, he found...nothing.

"I don't understand...everything looks the same."

"Ah, but there's been a very important change: I've put your body shape totally in your control. Go ahead, think about how you'd like to look."

Unsure as to what game she was playing, but totally at a loss as to how else to proceed, he complied. He tried picturing his ideal self, then panicked momentarily as he realized he had no idea what shape that would take. He had things about himself that he was unhappy with, of course. Everyone did! But what shape he wanted to replace his current form was a nebulous, frustrated fog.

But there was something in there. He pressed into that confusing haze, and he felt something build in his chest. The billowing, bubbling clouds of thought. Their huge, pendulous curves. Before he knew it, two growths were forming above his nipples. They were...they were...

"Breasts?" the Sorceress asked, feigning surprise. "That's strange. Why do you think you're growing breasts?"

His eyes flung wide as the full implications reached him. He tried to shut it down, and was partially successful. He still sported breasts, but they were tiny squeezable apples rather than absurd melons.

"It's not...ngh...it's not what it looks like!" he tried to explain, holding his hands over his chest. hands. Even his clothing danced to this Tiefling's perverse tune!

"It looks to me like you're not happy with your body unless it is feminine. I can certainly relate. And what about your species? Would you like to stay human?"

"Of course!" he shouted defiantly, then froze. Something was happening to his ears. He reached up, exposing his new tits momentarily to feel them point and lengthen out. His previously short brown hair puffed and lengthened into golden blonde curls. Even his canine teeth flattened, resembling a creature who had never touched a meat dish in its life. He was turning into some kind of...Busty Elf Bimbo!

"How do I stop this?" he pleased, trying to poke his elongating ears back down.

"You could only stop it if you truly wanted it to stop. Now, I'd love to wait for you to reach a state of heartswelling catharsis as you come to terms with your identity, but I'm an impatient mistress. I want to play with my toys now."

A beam of powerful magic shot into Mark's chest, right in between his burgeoning breasts. It split his shirt wide open, and with heart-stopping panic he realized it was the same energy that had corrupted Grika. He felt a warmth as the power infiltrated his Implant, forcing his stat window open against his will.

"W-what are you doing to me? I don't have anything you want! I'm just a Level 2 nobody!"

"Well, we can certainly change that. Can't have a couple scrubs as my entourage." Magical energy surged through their connection. Like a torrent of undifferentiated potential. It felt like he was about to burst! He watched in confusion as his XP metre filled and filled and filled again, shooting up until he reached Level 10 in a matter of seconds. She was making him more powerful?

"Don't let all that experience go to your head, cutes. I'm going to spend it all right away. But first, let's rearrange your points." With as much ease as someone thumbing through a magazine, she peeled apart the very fabric of his being and started shifting values around. "I want to keep you a caster so I won't make you a total dummy, but we won't need Willpower. Let's make that your dump stat, and boost your Charisma."

He could feel it. His mind being shaken around and emptied out, though not entirely. It was like his decision making process was given a quick scrambling. He could still think, sorta, but his ability for forethought and hindsight had huge, bubbly blinders on them. The Moment would be all that mattered, at least for the time being.

"I feel different," he said, tapping his noggin as if trying to knock a few sticky braincell loose. "What was I doing?"

"You were picturing your ideal body, remember?"

He sorta did. Something had stopped him, but he couldn't remember what. Oh well! He got back to trying to think about just what his "ideal" body would look like. Eventually, his breasts grew again, but there were more changes too. His skin softened, hair from everywhere below his nose fluttering to the ground like a thousand tiny feathers. He watched with excitement as his whole body changed around him. It was amazing!

"I'm looking kinda like a pretty Elf girl!" he said, smiling. He hadn't smiled like that in...ever! At least, he couldn't remember smiling that much. It felt good!

The Tiefling smiled. "That's because you are one, silly. I figured as much. The spell I cast must have turned off that nasty curse that was keeping you stuck as a Human boy."

Mark's head tilted. He didn't remember being cursed, but...everything was a little hazy past the five minutes ago mark. He remembered being mad, and scared, but getting cursed was a big blur. Maybe the powerful Sorceress lady knew what was going on more than he did.

"I am a girl?" he asked, and felt a shudder deep beneath his form. Something beyond the moment, beyond the spell, awakened in his heart. In her heart. Her. She smiled. "I'm a girl!"

Sitri nodded. "Do you have a name? Your old Human one seems kinda yucky now."

She thought for a moment. "I like gemstones and pretty rocks. What about Mica?"

"Hmm...soft, an ingredient in cheap makeup, easily shaped, perfect cleavage...yes, Mica will do nicely. And what does Mica want to do when she's adventuring?"

Mica looked around her new body. She was so soft! Chub had formed along with the feminine features, giving her a distinctly plush appearance. Only her jogging pants' elastic waistband let them cling to her flesh. Her thickening thighs pushed her legs apart, widening her stance and causing the worn-out fabric to split and fall to the ground, chased by her unflattering masculine underwear. Mica was naked! But that was okay. She was pretty now, what did she have to hide? Well, there was something...Her eyes found her cock and, after a moment, she felt a tingle as her last reminder of her old guyhood slid back inside her body. She watched as her cock shrunk and shrunk and shrunk some more. Not disappearing, but becoming no bigger than a clit. It peeked out of a mound of chub, more of an ornament than anything meant for penetration. Now that her form was perfect, she wanted to show everyone her girly, naked body!